Which Masters rookie has the best chance of winning in 2026?

Aside from inaugural winner Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen (who won the second edition), the late Fuzzy Zoeller remains the only golfer to have won The Masters on their debut. One or two others have come close, most notably Jordan Spieth and Ludvig Aberg. 

So what about this year’s first-timers? Could any of them cause a huge upset? Here are the 2026 debutants, with predictions as to how they will cope with the vagaries of Augusta National.

Michael Brennan

Making only his second major championship start. He competed in the 2023 U.S. Open as an amateur. Last October, he won in Utah to earn his first PGA Tour win in just his third career start. Earlier in 2025, he won three times on PGA Tour Americas in Canada and Minnesota to win its season-long points race and earn a Korn Ferry Tour card. In 2024, he had five top-10 finishes in 10 starts on PGA Tour Americas. Before turning professional, he was a two-time All-American at Wake Forest University and represented the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Jacob Bridgeman

Earlier this year, he secured his first career PGA Tour win in Los Angeles and finished T-4 in Honolulu, T-5 in the Players Championship and T-8 in Pebble Beach. In 2025, he competed in his first Tour Championship after recording top-five performances in Palm Beach Gardens, Tampa, Philadelphia and Illinois. As a PGA Tour rookie in 2024, he retained his PGA Tour card after a series of top-15 finishes. He earned his first PGA Tour card in 2023 through the Korn Ferry Tour. Before turning professional, he was a three-time All-American at Clemson University and represented the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup.

Prediction: Top 50.

Ethan Fang

The 20-year-old won the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's by defeating Ireland's Gavin Tiernan. Also last year, the First Team All-American at Oklahoma State University helped his team win the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, finished runner-up in the Western Amateur, competed in The Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and represented the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup, Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Ryan Gerard

Gerard successfully earned his PGA Tour card for 2025 by finishing 12th on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024, registering 12 top-25 finishes, four top-10s and a win at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. In his first full season on the PGA Tour, Gerard made nine of his first 10 cuts, including a runner-up finish at the Valero Texas Open, before winning the Barracuda. 

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Chris Gotterup

Will join Dave Hill in 1968 and Mark Wilson in 2011 as players to make their Masters debut with at least four official PGA Tour wins. Since July 2025, he has won the Scottish Open, finished third in The Open at Royal Portrush, competed in his first Tour Championship and started the 2026 season with victories in Honolulu and Phoenix. After earning his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, he won in Myrtle Beach in 2024. Before turning professional, he competed for four years at Rutgers University in New Jersey and, in his fifth collegiate season for the University of Oklahoma in 2022, he won both the Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus Awards. If there is a debutant in the field who could win it is surely Gotterup.

Prediction: Top 10.

Ben Griffin

Griffin had a sensational season in 2025. He came from nowhere to win three times on the PGA Tour and also made his Ryder Cup debut. The pick of his wins came at the World Wide Technology Championship in November when he shot a final round of 63 to win by two with a record total of 259. He has not played as well thus far in 2026 but is a serious class act with a wonderful short game. If he can get off to a good start he could surprise a few people - but not himself.

Prediction: Top 15.

Harry Hall

The Englishman is one of the most consistent performers on the PGA Tour, reeling off top-20 finishes for fun. He is also a birdie machine and a wonderful putter. If he can master the vagaries of the greens at Augusta National then he could have a debut to remember. He is also one of the straightest hitters on the planet, and is a fine iron player. Put all that together and who knows?

Prediction: Top 20.

Jackson Herrington

The 19-year-old finished runner-up to Mason Howell in the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in California last year. Notable runners-up in the U.S. Amateur to go on to win Low Amateur honors in the following year's Masters include Ben Crenshaw in 1973, Patrick Cantlay in 2012, Doug Ghim in 2018 and Neal Shipley two years ago. In 2024, he earned Tennessee Men's and Junior Player of the Year honors, finished runner-up with Blades Brown in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Pennsylvania and reached match play in both the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Brandon Holtz

Making his debut at the age of 39. Last September while competing in his first USGA championship, he won the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club in Arizona with a 3&2 victory over Jeg Coughlin III. With his victory, he received the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy and earned places in the fields for both the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2026. Jay Sigel in 1988 and Stewart Hagestad in 2017 both earned Low Amateur honors in the Masters after winning this title the previous year. After playing college basketball at Illinois State University, he played golf professionally before later regaining his amateur status.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Mason Howell

The 18-year-old thrashed Jackson Herrington in the final, 7&6, to win the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club. The University of Georgia student and 2026 United States National Junior Team member also competed in the U.S. Open and represented his country in both the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy in 2025. In 2024, he earned junior All-America honors after finishing fifth in both the Western Junior and Junior Players Championship and reached the round of 64 in the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Casey Jarvis

The South African is enjoying the season of his life. In consecutive weeks earlier this year, he won the Kenya Open and South African Open for his first two DP World Tour victories and has continued that astonishing form. With his win in the South African Open, he earned invitations to The Masters and The Open in 2026 and joined the list of winners that includes Gary Player, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Trevor Immelman. In late 2025, he won two events on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa in November and finished third in Mauritius in December. He won both the South African Stroke Play and South African Amateur Championships in 2020. Looks like the real deal.

Prediction: Top 15.

Naoyuki Kataoka

Last October, he came from seven strokes back in the final round and won the Japan Open in a playoff to earn his second career Japan Golf Tour win and first since the 2021 Japan Players Championship. He joined the list of winners that includes World Golf Hall of Fame members Jumbo Ozaki and Isao Aoki and Masters champions Seve Ballesteros and Hideki Matsuyama. Before turning professional, he won the 2014 Japan Junior Championship and finished T-27 in the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

John Keefer

Earned Rookie and Player of the Year honours on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour after leading the season-long points list with nine top-10 performances, including two victories in Texas and Illinois. In addition to securing his PGA Tour card for 2026, he also finished T-7 in St. Simons Island and competed in both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open last year. In 2024, he won the season-long points race on PGA Tour Americas with nine top-10 finishes in 10 starts, including a win in Canada. Before turning professional, he was a three-time All-American at Baylor University and represented the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Fifa Laopakdee

Won the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai in October to become Thailand's first champion. Entering the final round six strokes off the lead, he closed with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 and then birdied all three playoff holes to secure places in this year's Masters and Open Championship. He is the first amateur representing Thailand to compete in the Masters. The Arizona State University junior also won the individual gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand by 11 strokes in 2025. He has represented his country in both the Eisenhower Trophy and Junior Presidents Cup.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Tom McKibbin

Won the Hong Kong Open in November by seven strokes to earn his first Asian Tour win. He opened with a 60 at Hong Kong Golf Club and went on to shoot 27-under-par 253. Other high finishes in 2025 included T-3 in Singapore, fourth in the Spanish Open and T-6 in Dubai. He also recorded top-20 performances in both the Irish Open and the DP World Tour's flagship event in England and made his PGA Championship debut last year. He won the European Open in Germany in 2023 and finished runner-up in the Italian Open in 2024. Has a wonderful short game and should love Augusta.

Prediction: Top 25.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen

Last December, he won the Australian Open at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club to earn his first career DP World Tour win. One month earlier, he closed his 2025 DP World Tour season with a T-3 performance in Dubai to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2026 season. Other high finishes worldwide last year included runner-up in Qatar and the Puerto Rico Open, fourth in China, T-5 in the Spanish Open and T-12 in the U.S. Open. In 2024, he earned an automatic promotion to the DP World Tour with three victories on the Challenge Tour. Before turning professional, he was an All-American at Oklahoma State University and represented Denmark in both the Arnold Palmer Cup and Eisenhower Trophy.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Andrew Novak

Novak is something of a late developer. Age 31, he won the Zurich Classic with Ben Griffin last year and lost the RBC Heritage in a playoff to Justin Thomas. A big hitter, Novak lacks consistency and I expect him to struggle on the greens at Augusta.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Marco Penge

Last October, he won the Spanish Open in a playoff to earn his first invitation to compete at Augusta National. It was the third DP World Tour win of his year and his career with victories in China and Denmark. Other high worldwide finishes in 2025 included runner-up in the Scottish Open, third in the South African Open and T-8 in Switzerland. In 2023, he led the European Challenge Tour's Order of Merit with wins in Portugal and Spain to earn his DP World Tour card. Before turning professional, he won the 2015 Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Championship and finished runner-up in the 2017 Spanish Amateur. A true crowd favourite, he will either contend or miss the cut by a mile!

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Mateo Pulcini

Won the Latin America Amateur in Peru in January to become Argentina's third champion. Entering the final round two strokes off the lead, he closed with 68 and then parred the second playoff hole to secure places in this year's Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and Open Championship. In 2025, he won World Amateur Golf Ranking events in Argentina and Brazil, finished fifth in the Mexican Amateur and represented his country in the Eisenhower Trophy in Singapore. He was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American with Oklahoma Christian University and played his final collegiate season at the University of Arkansas.

Prediction: Missed Cut.

Kristoffer Reitan

He will join Viktor Hovland as golfers representing Norway to compete in the Masters. Last year, he earned his PGA Tour card for 2026 after winning DP World Tour events in Belgium and South Africa and recording top-five finishes in Austria, China, Germany, Scotland and the French Open. In 2024, he earned his DP World Tour card through the European Challenge Tour where he closed his season by winning its Grand Final in Spain. Before turning professional, he represented Norway in the Eisenhower Trophy. Has a habit of going really low but can he master the challenge that Augusta will provide?

Prediction: Top 25.

Samuel Stevens

Last season on the PGA Tour, he finished runner-up in San Diego and Minnesota and third in the Byron Nelson in Texas. He also recorded his best finishes in both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open and closed 2025 with a T-7 performance last November in St. Simons Island. In 2024, he recorded four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, Detroit and Mexico and was also runner-up in a Korn Ferry Tour event in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. He played collegiate golf at Oklahoma State University where his teammates included future PGA Tour winners Wyndham Clark, Austin Eckroat, Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff.

Prediction: Top 50.

Sami Valimaki

Will join 2001 and 2015 participant Mikko Ilonen as golfers representing Finland to compete in The Masters. Last year, he won in St. Simons Island to become Finland's first winner on the PGA Tour and finished runner-up in Switzerland and Mexico, fourth in Houston and T-7 in Myrtle Beach. In 2024, he finished runner-up in the Mexico Open and T-9 in the Irish Open. He won on the DP World Tour in 2020 in Oman and 2023 in Qatar and represented his country in both the Olympics and Eisenhower Trophy. Can make lots of birdies but has a tendency to be wild from the tee.

Prediction: Missed Cut.